Say New York and what comes to mind? For me it’s a few things. Broadway, shopping, museums, people, uptown, downtown, and….. FOOD!!
See that hot pastrami sandwich. That’s just half of the sandwich. We arrived in New York and the first thing we did was ask where the nearest deli was. New York is synonymous with the word deli. Even though we’re all eating healthier now, there’s nothing better that a hot pastrami on fresh rye, some good half sours and slaw and for Roy a Cel-Ray or Dr. Brown’s cream soda.
That sandwich was consumed during our first 60 minutes in New York After lunch we stopped at Magnolia Bakery for a cupcake. I think they are the originators of cupcake fanaticism.
In the next whirlwind 48 hours this is what we did:
Saw two movies:
Django Unchained. An incredible piece of movie making. The story, the dialogue, the actors, the music. It’s Quentin Tarantino at his ultimate. There are a lot of old time actors in the movie. We didn’t recognize them but stay for the credits and you’ll see what I mean. Django is a solid A.
Not Fade Away. Written and directed by David Chase with Steven Van Zandt as producer. About a kid in the 60’s who’s dream is to be in a rock n’ roll band. The movie was good – I’d give it a solid B+. The music is great with a song written by Little Steven called St. Valentine’s Day. We originally heard that song by a group called Cocktail Slippers, a Norwegian all girl band that Little Steven discovered. Check it out on youtube.
The Shows:
Once. The musical based on the movie. Is there anything more intense than Broadway and Times Square before the theatre. The theatres, the lights, the people, the bigger than life neon signs selling everything from beer to underwear. It’s one of the world’s great crossroads, maybe the greatest. Before the show begins, the audience is invited onstage where there is a bar which is part of the set and we were able to buy a beer and stand on stage while the members of the cast jammed. How many times have you been on a Broadway stage? For me, never and it was a thrill. So was the thrill of paying $13 for a beer. But we did get to have it poured into a plastic take-away cup which we left behind! Well, it was all part of the experience! So, for the musical, I loved it. Roy, not so much. He loved the movie but the play left him a little cold.
Sandra Bernhard at Joe’s Pub. It’s a yearly thing for her, performing at Joe’s Pub. We bought tickets early and were front and center along with niece and nephew-in-law H and C. Sandra came on stage with a back-up band. She has a good voice and came out singing “Stony End” made famous by Laura Nero. She dished for an hour. I think she could have stayed on stage longer. We’ve experienced a better Sandra Bernhard but still enjoyed seeing her in her element.
The Hotel:
The Empire Hotel. If you’re coming out of the 59th Street subway at night, look up and the hotel sign is a beacon in the dark. It’s located in a great neighborhood on W. 63rd, across the street from Lincoln Center and it’s possible not to have to leave the neighborhood. We loved the hotel. It had a lot of energy. The rooms are outfitted with Occitane amenities, Frette robes and the bed was very comfortable.
Food:
We had good intentions for dinner after the theatre. But, it was raining. No, it was pouring, torrential with wind. So we started walking to where we thought the restaurant was located but turned right instead of left and long story short, we were soaked, our umbrellas were turned inside out and in order to avert a fight, we hopped on the subway. Why the subway? Because one of the great mysteries is why are there no taxis in New York when it rains or snows!! People are nice in New York. We were directed which trains to take to get us back uptown and we ended up at P. J. Clarke’s next to the hotel. A good bowl of soup, some macaroni and cheese and for Roy a burger, no not just a burger, the “Cadillac” burger, famous at P. J. Clarke’s. OK, it turned out to be fine. Not the quintessential New York dinner that we thought we’d have but we enjoyed sitting at the bar and talking to the oyster shucker from the Dominican Republic.
Nai Tapas: a decent tapas restaurant near The Public Theatre. Good enough that four of us consumed 2 bottles of wine and lots of tapas! If you’re near The Public Theatre and want some tapas, check it out.
The Museum of Art and Design:
Down Broadway, past the Times Warner Building, The Museum of Art and Design is located at Columbus Circle. Six floors, each floor is dedicated to one exhibit with one floor a working space for artists. We were able to hook up with a tour and spent about 2 hours at the museum. It was two hours well spent and we were given an overview of each exhibit ranging from Islamic and Middle Eastern art from Doris Duke’s home in Hawaii called Shangri-La to the artist Daniel Brush and his art and jewelry, a contemporary glass exhibit and an interactive exhibit entitled Art of Scent tracing the history of perfume where you could actually smell the scents being shown.
We couldn’t leave New York without the true New York breakfast of a bagel and schmear of cream cheese. For me, it had to have some lox on it.
We headed out of New York and to Frank Pepe’s in New Haven, Connecticut to pick up a couple of pizza’s. Frank’s is famous. So famous in fact that at 2:45PM there was a line out the door. Mind you, the little street that Frank Pepe’s is on has other restaurants selling pizza, but every one was empty except for Frank’s. If you’re in or near New Haven and want pizza, head to Frank Pepe’s!
So that’s New York in a nutshell.
See you at the bar….
